Dislocated Finger

It's not very often that I get a cool injury story to tell. Most of the time, I play it pretty safe, I guess. But last night, I went to the Classic Family Fun Center (aka Classic Skating) with Michelle & Skye, Lisa & Brett, Chris Kennedy, Zack & Andrea, and a couple of their friends. I really needed a night out after being by myself with the boys all week. Kirk's mom jumped at the chance to get out of her house to come watch my boys.

We skated for a while but then decided to spending an hour "bouncing." This costs $3 extra, but it was SO worth it. We did tricks down the huge blow up slide and then moved on to racing through the various obstacle courses. My first race was against Chris, and it really came down to the wire. The winner would be the first person back out the entrance tunnel. He and I could both see that it would be a photo finish, and -- not wanting to lose -- we both dove for it. I'm not sure whether my finger hit Chris or just part of the obstacle course, but I felt instant pain. The pain distracted me from my graceful exit from the course and I ended up just falling out and hitting my head really hard on the floor. The pain in my head provided only a brief distraction from the idea that I may have broken my finger. I was clutching my entire right hand in my left when I announced my fears regarding my finger. Instantly, Lisa was standing over me, asking which finger. I extended my right hand for her to examine, and as I saw the damage for the first time, I was easily able to indicate which finger needed attention. "The crooked one," I explained.

I wish SO badly that someone had thought to take a picture. I would have gladly endured 30 seconds more of the pain in order to have documentation, but I didn't think of it until about 5 minutes later. The top half of my pinky was bent back at about a 30 degree angle past straight. I closed my eyes immediately after seeing it. Lisa calmly explained that it was just dislocated, and that if I could handle it, she could pop it back in. I nodded and braced myself. She wasn't quite brave enough to get it in the first time, but then she braced herself and went for it. I felt the strangest sensation as my finger clicked back into place. Brett got me some ice, and we finished out our fun-filled night. I even tried a few more obstacle courses.

Today, however, I needed to play the piano for Christopher Vassel to sing. I knew that either he or I could find a replacement, but I had practiced with him, and I really wanted to be the one to play for him. So I didn't tell him about my injury, knowing he wouldn't let me play. I iced my finger until it was pretty much numb and just went for it. Christopher did a great job, and apparently the congregation loved it.

Having gotten through this, I decided it was now maybe time to go see a doctor. I now have the finger in a splint (no more piano for this week, but I'll be playing for Christopher again next Sunday) and it is buddy-taped to my ring finger. The pain has decreased significantly since wrapping it up. The doc says I should heal just fine. I theoretically just stretched out some tendons, but we won't be able to tell for sure whether any tendons have actually torn until next weekend. Wish me luck as I play the piano at school with only 8 functional fingers this week. Should be fun.